This week is gonna be a bit light on the blogging — my sister is coming into town toward the end of the week and I’ve got a ton of stuff to take care of at work and at home before I go AWOL for a few days. I should be back in the swing by next Wednesday, but I won’t have time for much gaming in the meantime.
I finally got back around to playing Call of Duty 4 this weekend. I’d started it around Christmastime but never really got into it — it’s a squad shooter, and having an AI-controlled squad around either means you have to spend all your time making sure they’re doing what they should be doing or, in COD4’s case, doing all the things they insist you should be doing. Go over there, pick up that weapon, use it on that enemy, then advance to this point, use this weapon on that enemy, etc. There’s not a whole lot of freedom to play how you want of play, and after a while it’s like, “Look, dude, why don’t you go use the C4 on that tank if you’re so jazzed up about it. You’re not the boss of me!”
Note: He is the boss of me.
The other thing about having a squad means you have more enemies to face, and there’s no shortage of angry, AK47-wielding middle eastern men, all firing at you and your mates. With you and your squad (which is sometimes quite large) fighting back, there’s pretty much entire swaths of the game that are nothing but constant heavy machine gun fire. This is, at first, rather intense and exciting, but I quickly reached a point where I was like, Jesus, enough already.
Luckily, there are some great stealth missions peppered in here — there’s a moment in a sniper mission that is quite simply totally completely absolutely terrifying and awesome and brilliant, and it doesn’t even require firing a gun. Unfortunately it ends with having to lug a wounded guy around, which is a pain in the butt.
There’s also a sequence where you have to give air support to a group of soldiers on the ground that is, well, more than a bit unsettling. Which is good. Anything that makes you think about what you’re doing and how it might reflect things actually happening in the world is good, even if it makes you feel a bit sick about it. After playing through COD2 a couple years ago, my interest in WWII was sparked (mostly from thinking, “How the hell did anyone survive this?”), and I read a bunch of books and watched documentaries and movies for months afterwards. They also made me sick. But, that’s good.
And, the game looks fantastic and runs very smoothly, a rarity with my PC.
I just wish it was a bit more immersive. As in other COD games, you play as different characters, primarily a U.S. Marine and an SAS guy, plus a few other (somewhat surprising) roles throughout the game. It’s kind of neat to flip back and forth between characters (in the air support mission mentioned above, you’re giving support to the SAS, I guess, though I shouldn’t really call them characters as you really have no idea what your backstory might be. You’re basically just a hand holding a gun (with one exception); you fill in the rest.
It’s almost a shame. While the game doesn’t really need to give you a backstory, it would be nice to feel some attachment to who you are playing. I say this because there are some really surprising, jarring elements to the storyline. At least three or four times I sat back from my computer and said, “Holy shit, did that just really happen?”
While overall I’m not a fan of the squad combat, these few surprising moments just about make up for all the things I don’t care for. I won’t spoil them here, because if you haven’t played it and plan to, hearing about them would lessen their effectiveness. I’ll just say I was very impressed with a number of choices the developers made with their game. I think they were pretty daring and it demonstrates that they weren’t just trying to make an ultra-cool high-tech shooter. They were also trying to tell a story and maybe make you think.
All in all, even though I don’t like much of the gameplay, the COD4 has still had an effect on me. It’s a visceral experience and there are some truly brilliant twists and elements to the story. As soon as I finish the single-player, I’ll give the multi-player a go.
37 responses so far ↓
1 Snooglebum // Jul 7, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Yes, please do. It’s addictive and fun. I guarantee it will suck away hours of your life.
Also, here’s a tip: grenade launcher FTW.
2 DeliriumWartner // Jul 7, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Amazing game. The best multiplayer experience on the 360, easily, and a good solid single player. Incidentally, the large scale war-type scenes are usually quite interesting, because it kind of becomes more about your personal rush through the carnage.
Sometimes war IS noisy and scary and you just want to get away from it, and I like that you can be put into those places and feel the same things.
Also, the sniper mission is just freaking amazing, apart from the last “survival” bit, which makes me want to kill real people, rather than the pixelated type.
3 friccish // Jul 7, 2008 at 3:42 pm
What a coincidence, I just started up CoD4 again this weekend too! It’s funny because my sentiments are very much like yours. I was a big fan of the WWII CoD’s (1 & 2) and like that they’ve stuck to somewhat the same formula. But it does get a bit labored at times.
What I can’t stand is when someone yells at you to pick up “x” gun, and cover “y”. And so you start doing it, and you keep doing it, and periodically you’re looking around to see if you need to do something else, but you keep getting yelled at, and so you keep doing it, and then after a while, you realize that you’re all alone, and you’re supposed to be on the opposite side of the map, and you truck it over there, and everyone is standing around looking at you like, “What the freak took you so long!”
Anyways, it was some good fun, and a nice (short lived) break from TF2.
4 Koslov // Jul 7, 2008 at 3:44 pm
The Multiplayer can at times get annoying like a CS:S pub full of 12 year olds with mics. But that is par for most multiplayer games. There are a few servers that you’ll be able to enjoy and the different game modes makes things intresting. You’ll have fun for awhile, and if your really down to tackle some more acheivments… COD4 has that in spades.
5 Pentadact // Jul 7, 2008 at 3:57 pm
The multiplayer will really make you appreciate TF2’s decision to remove grenades. And every other game’s decision to not let you get shot through walls.
6 Sam // Jul 7, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I know what you mean about the gunfire. I swear I had shell shock after playing 6 hours of the multiplayer, maybe it didn’t help having a surround sound speaker setup….
7 b4dboyz- // Jul 7, 2008 at 4:37 pm
@Snooglebum
Stop using the Noob Tube :(
I hate multiplayer Cod4 on computer, its the closest thing to the xbox live experience you can get.
8 Spectre2525 // Jul 7, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Wow, im surprised no one said, “OMG YOU SUK! ITS TEH BEST GAM EVAR” yet.
9 The Linker // Jul 7, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Noob tube ftw! :P
I thought CoD4 really did have the most involving storyline in any FPS I’ve ever played, excluding the HL games. Not that I’ve played very many FPS, but it was still VERY cool to climb out of that broken… well, I won’t spoil it. Man, there needs to be a way to hide spoilers here.
I didn’t find the “lug-around-your-wounded-companion” bit to be as annoying as I thought it would be. They could have been a lot more evil with it, that’s for sure. You had chance to see every enemy coming to some degree, and it was fairly easy to drop him on the ground. But I can see how people would find it annoying.
10 Alek // Jul 7, 2008 at 5:43 pm
What a shame.
11 AlphaHawk // Jul 7, 2008 at 6:33 pm
You’re entitled to your opinion. Although I think COD4’s multiplayer was the best of 2007. If anyone has time to kill, I made 6 tip videos on COD online.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=AlphaHawkP
Sucks there won’t be as much blogging…enjoy your sister’s company :)
12 Super Jesus // Jul 7, 2008 at 8:28 pm
My suggestion:
I love love LOVE CoD4, so here’s a tip: if at a point where no one is moving, just rush ahead a few yards. It’ll get your squad moving, and you can recover in cover.
13 J3553 // Jul 7, 2008 at 9:20 pm
No Tags? (No Comment)
14 Mr. Munchlax // Jul 7, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Noob tube is fail. I thought the very last part of the singleplayer (not the bonus mission but the part before that) That was amazing.
15 Crane // Jul 8, 2008 at 1:17 am
The only problem I had with COD4 singleplayer was some of the sections where the enemies would respawn INFINITELY until you pushed past a certain point. It seemed very counterintuitive to encourage players to do something as inherantly unrealistic as charging through gunfire to reach some arbitrary “No More Enemies” spot.
I nominate the guy responsible for THAT for a firing squad, and the rest of the dev team for small medals.
16 Chijts // Jul 8, 2008 at 3:36 am
I agree, it is annoying that if you charge forward you’ll probably end up doing better or cutting the mission time down considerably. But once you get that mechanic it isn’t too bothersome.
I agree entirely Pentaduct. Some servers make people not use the grenade launcher (”noob tube”) or the martyrdom perk (where you drop a nade when you die) or they get kicked because it’s that lame.
When you are fighting 15-20 aside and the majority of those are using even the martyr, on both sides, and the nade symbol shows up for BOTH your sides nades and the enemy, it can be tricky.
17 Pixi // Jul 8, 2008 at 5:03 am
Cod4 is a good game, and an awesome multiplayer experience.
Lets see of the next one will be just as good.
Stepping into WWII again is a turn back imo.
Vietnam war or something would have been cooler.
18 Rosti // Jul 8, 2008 at 5:24 am
NT;DNR.
19 jordan // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:30 am
im gonna talk about the game and bleep the spoilers.
HOLY SHIT when that (bleep) goes off and its all like (bleepity bleep) and your chopper goes all (bleepy) then you (bleep) on the ground and the shockwave just (bleeps) everything!!
Bonus Mission most epic line EVAR:
“Weapons free” What follows that line:
bang bang chakakakakaka boom stabby-stabby- ka-pow boom-chk-chk-boom-chk-chk nade-through-head p90-face-massage
sssslllloooooooww-mmmooootionnnn-hostage rescue
*pant* so… *pant* fuckin… *wheeze* ORESUM!
20 jordan // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:32 am
NNNYYYYAAARRRGGGHHH
21 Lack_26 // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:59 am
I really loved multiplayer, but then again I only play 16 (usually about 8 of us on though) player, hard-core, wetwork 24/7 (game mode changes every couple of rounds which keeps it fresh), server. Which is fun, since we know each other a bit by now and it’s a small/symmetrical map which means that requires tactics.
22 Lack_26 // Jul 8, 2008 at 7:00 am
Edit: Martyrdom + ‘noob tube’ are banned and there aren’t enough players for a grenade spam to work.
23 rammingspeed42 // Jul 8, 2008 at 8:16 am
I played a little bit of COD4 on a friend’s computer, and the little I did play was very good, and I thought that it was good to have a game that was about what is going on now in the world, kinda. But COD5 is gonna be back in ww2, so it is gonna be interesting to see how it is gonna be.
24 Oliver // Jul 8, 2008 at 9:08 am
Meh, I’m waiting for Brothers in Arms : Hell’s Highway, the previous two were a damn sight better than any CoD (though I did play them too) and immersive.
It is a squad shooter, but for the most part they have a brain and you don’t have to mow down 50 bazillion guys to win, although in the end it *is* nazi’s again.
25 Mr. Munchlax // Jul 8, 2008 at 9:08 am
CoD 5 is probably going to suck. Not because it’s back in WWII but because it’s Treyarch that’s making it. I learned a long time ago that Infinity Ward is the only developer that can make a good CoD game. Because the only good CoD games other than the United Offensive expansion pack for CoD1 have been made by Infinity Ward.
26 Josh S. // Jul 8, 2008 at 9:19 am
COD 4 was a good game, played it on the 360.
I dunno, the WWII thing seems played. I thought COD 4 was a refreshing change.
Also, COD 4 had the best multiplayer on the 360 (excluding tf2 of course).
27 scrimpy // Jul 8, 2008 at 9:44 am
CoD2 FTFW.
28 deedeedee // Jul 8, 2008 at 10:02 am
OMG YOU SUK! ITS TEH BEST GAM EVAR
29 Chijts // Jul 8, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I think ww2 is so overdone now. If you look about for them all it’s a huge amount of ww2 games. I’m not touching the next one.
30 Pentadact // Jul 8, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Suggested tags:
Soap McTavish? Really?
Ka-boom.
Guys could you open this door for me? I glued my hands to my gun again.
Now approaching: THE MIDDLE EAST
What’s it called when you feel like you’ve experienced this all before, but instead of you it was Jack Bauer?
31 thezeus18 // Jul 8, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I have made up the best COD6 plot ever.
32 LaZodiac // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Thezeus, if its not WW2 I’m not buying the “best plot” thing.
I kid, just poking fun at their method.
33 thezeus18 // Jul 8, 2008 at 11:00 pm
It’s in space.
34 Chijts // Jul 9, 2008 at 3:42 am
Aha! The new title:
Call of Duty
Nazis in Space
35 Snooglebum // Jul 9, 2008 at 11:11 am
@ b4dboyz
NO HE BE STEALIN MAH GRENADES
In al seriousness though, the grenade launchers in CoD 4 seem to be better balanced then in other FPS’s, because you spawn with only 2 grenades for it and can’t get more, and it’s not always an instant kill (it depends on how accurate you are)
36 Sinister Minister // Jul 9, 2008 at 2:39 pm
@Mr Munchlax: Oh yeah, just because they happen to be making it, it must suck, right? CoD3 wasn’t that bad, unless you’re one of those who happen to be joining the I Hate Treyarch bandwagon.
37 Halcyon // Jul 9, 2008 at 4:51 pm
just wait until you get all the intel, Chris. You’ll have fun in single player with slomo and infinite ammo. they’re all not that hard to get. what IS hard is veteran difficulty.
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